Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Friday filed an eleventh-hour court appeal to overturn a ban on her holding public office, as she seeks to run against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in next year’s election.
“Maduro will have to decide whether ... to comply or not to comply with the agreements he has assumed with actors of the international community,” Machado told journalists as she left the Venezuelan Supreme Justice Tribunal.
Negotiators for Maduro and the opposition struck a deal last month in Barbados to take steps toward a competitive election.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The agreement gave opposition figures until Friday to challenge bans preventing them from holding public office.
Machado, who won overwhelming support in an opposition primary in October, earlier in the week declined to seek her political reinstatement at the court, which the opposition widely sees as subservient to the Maduro government.
Political disqualifications, ordered by the Venezuelan Comptroller General’s office, have been widely used by the Maduro government to sideline possible electoral opposition.
Machado, a former legislator, called her disqualification “a nonexistent act,” alleging that she was never formally notified of it.
She said her actions at the court were part of “a complex negotiation process” with one purpose: “to have clean and free elections.”
Following the Barbados agreement, the US government eased sanctions on Venezuelan oil, gas and gold for six months, which was contingent on the lifting of bans on opposition figures, among other actions.
“We applaud Maria Corina Machado and other candidates for their courage and willingness to appeal their ineligibilities,” the US embassy for Caracas, which operates out of Bogota, posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Now it is up to the representatives of Nicholas Maduro to demonstrate their commitment to competitive ... elections.”
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